Gathering Courage
by Vengeful
Summary: First fanfiction. Suffice it to say, this is not very good. Read if you must, but I beg of you to read it as a bad!fic. Cliche story of a MarySue dropped into Tortall. How original!
1. Changes

**A/N: well, I edited this chapter finally... months after the story ended but still, at least I FINALLY fixed it. I am going over all of the earlier chapters and editing them so its easier to read. Well, remember, this was my first fan fiction! I am currently working on a sequel (go read!) enjoy and don't forget to review!**

**--Emily—**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing!

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Tears streamed down the girls face as she stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her. She flung herself onto her bed, breaking down into sobs.

"I can't take this anymore! I have got to get out of here. And that's final" she thought, with sudden anger. She just couldn't take the fighting her parents put her through, she glanced at her latest bruise and felt fresh tears well up in her eyes.

"No, I will not cry!" she thought stubbornly. She stormed to her closet and began pulling things out, packing them into a large bag. "I can leave later tonight, my parents will be so drunk, its not like they will even notice". Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. "O no! Pita! I can't leave him here! I have GOT to take him with me, or at least maybe I can ride him to the barn, put him there, where I can no he's being looked after.

The girl, known has Annie snuck out of the house at about half past 12. She journeyed out to the barn, where her show horse and closest companion was kept. She was greeted with a soft nicker as she opened the heavy, wooden doors. She greeted him with a cookie. She gave the bay gelding a quick grooming; quickly packing some of his brushes and of course his treats. She slipped on his tack, and her chaps, brought him out to the mounting block she gave one last look at her home, the place she has suffered in for so long before gently clucking Pita on.

They had been traveling for about half and hour when a noise spooked Pita. Curious, Annie gently nudged him forward to investigate. She gasped as she felt herself and Pita being drawn towards a larges, black portal. She had enough time to murmur "what the hell" before blackness took over her.

At the same time, a young woman sat on a grassy hill, leaning up against a shady tree. Her smoky brown curls fluttered slightly in the gentle breeze the woman was to caught up in her focuses on her lover she didn't notice the scream, coming somewhere in the woods. Luckily, the small, shaggy, dappled grey mare heard. She glanced up at the two legger. It was quite obvious that the woman hadn't heard the scream.

: Humph, I will fix that!: thought the pony devilishly. Daine what brought back to reality with a sharp pain. She looked up to see Cloud standing above her.

: What was that for?:

: You were to caught up thinking about your stork man to hear that scream: Daine glared at the pony.

: What scream? I'm sure it's just a bird or something:

: No, it wasn't! YOU humans may not have much sense, but us horses do:

: Well, I don't hear it now; maybe it will just go away. It's probably nothing:

: Whatever you say: said the angry pony. She didn't like it when humans tried to act smarter then her. A few minutes later, Daine felt the mare bite her in the side.

:ow! What was that for?:

: Your sitting on a nice patch of grass, move before I kick you!:

Suddenly, Daine stood up. She could hear the sound of hoof steps coming from the forest. She quickly grabbed her bow, stringing it and getting ready to shoot. Then, out of the woods came the figure of a horse, the most magnificent animal Daine would ever see, and a rider holding onto his neck.

The horse was a gorgeous bay gelding, whose coat gleamed in the afternoon sun. He had the type of face that automatically could draw the attention of anyone. A big blaze ran down his face, his eyes were like two deep, brown, trusting pools. And his movements. He just seemed to float on air.

Daine was so caught up the grace of the big animal she didn't notice the girl or the fact that he was wearing some strange tack. Suddenly, a loud shrill erupted from behind Daine, Kit stood, looking with interest at the advancing pair. Obviously, never seeing a dragon before, Pita was NOT sane. He let out a terrified whinny and reared up. Daine was extremely surprised to she the girl staying on, and quite calm Daine watched in awe as the girl gently petted the great animals neck, murmuring to him "its ok baby, momma wont let anything hurt you, its ok boy". As the gelding dropped back to all fours, the rider dismounted and Daine got her first look at Annie.

The girl gently coaxed the horse over to Daine, who was trying to heard Kit out of sight. Daine looked at the girl, who was removing a dark helmet from her head. A ponytail of blond hair, sweat matted fell from it. The girl wore a tight t-shirt and strange leg coverings.

"Where the hell am I" was the girls first Words.

"Why, Tortall!" said Daine. The girl looked at her horse.

"Pita, I have a feeling we aren't in Florida anymore!

**Review!!**


	2. Off to the Palace

**Ok, here's chappy 2! Enjoy **

**Disclaimer:** the characters that you no all belong to thy sacred TP. Lol

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The 2 women looked at each other for a minute before Daine Broke the silence. "Um, what happened?"

"I'm not sure, one moment I was running from home..." tears clouded the girl's bright blue eyes and she shuddered. She took a deep breath and continued, "After a while, I saw like, a big, portal thing, I'm not sure what it was. And I just went to explore and suddenly I'm here." Annie sat down with an exasperated sigh. Pita, who had been watching the fiasco, went over to comfort the girl.

"Well, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Daine."

"And I'm Annie".

: What's your name?: Daine asked the gelding.

:I'm Pita. You can talk to me?:

"What are you doing?" asked Annie.

"Just meeting your horse, he's very pretty."

"Thanks." Daine suddenly noticed that the girl's arms were very bruised up.

"Oh! Did you get hurt going through whatever that was? We should go to the palace, get you a healer and stuff."

"Oh, no, its from, from, I'm fine." Annie spoke softly. Daine couldn't help hearing the pain in the girl's voice.

"Well, We Best take you up to the palace any ways. Get you cleaned up, give you some food."

"What about my horse? He MUST go with me, he needs to be fed, oh, and he needs to be hosed off, he get hot easily." Daine smiled, she liked this girl. She was obviously more interested in the well being of her horse than her well being.

"Don't worry, I will personally take care of him. I help out at the stables with the riders. I have a knack with animals." The girl smiled, relieved and got to her feet. She led Pita to a tree stump and effortlessly mounted into the strange saddle. "I will have to ask her about her tack", thought Daine as she mounted Cloud and they headed to the palace.

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**A/N: ok, I know that chapter kind of stinks. I had to get them to the palace some how, and i'm trying to develop a bond between Daine and Annie. And about the tack, they didn't have English tack in Tortall, in case you don't remember, several times thy holy TP refers to saddle horns and cinches, which are western terms for tack, not English. Annie rides English style. And since in the books, there is nothing about there being 2 riding styles, English isn't going to exist in my book. Ok? Lol. Now, READ AND RESPOND! Lol. I want to see how you feel, and I am posting this the same day I posted the first chapter. Thanks all!**

**Emily**


	3. Back in Time

A/N: ok, thanks sooooo much to my 2 reviewers. I'm trying! Well, here's chapter 3. Please enjoy, and don't forget to review! Just press the magic button. You can give me flames, just be INTELLIGENT! Please don't insult me, if you're going to be retarded. I want to know what you guys think of my first story. Thanks and enjoy!

Emily

Annie gazed in awe at the castle looming upon them. "Wow" she murmured. Daine grinned.

"Wait 'til you see the stables." Daine saw the girls face light up.

"Did ya hear that Pita? The stables are supposed to be nice!" Curious to see what this great animal though of his seemingly caring owner, she quietly talked to him.

:So, how does your two legger treat you? : .The gelding lit up.

:Oh I love her! She gives me lots of treats, and she always takes the best care of me. Even though her parents hate her:.

That's good to know. : Daine definitely liked this young girl now.

"Common!" yelled Annie, "lets get the horses stabled." And so they did.. After they were done, Daine showed Annie to her rooms.

"You can use this spare room. There's a bath drawn in the other room. After I will show you down so we can get some food. I'm sure you must be starving.

"Thank you so much, I wont be here long. Its just..."

"Its ok, we can discuss what's happened later. When you have rested. I may no someone that can explain it. He wont is back for a few days though." As any 15-year-old girl could, Annie could immediately spot the note of love when Daine said her last few words. She gave the woman a grin.

About 40 minutes later, Annie finally met up with Daine outside her room. Daine hadn't gotten a good look at the girl before, but now she took a closer look at the young girl. The girl was short, only about 5'2 or 5'3. She had long blond hair and striking blue eyes. She was slim and tan. Her clothing was very strange and scandalous, in a way. Tight pants that hung remarkably low on her hips clung to her thighs, but unlike breeches that Daine was used to, they got wider gradually. Her top was a low cut one, that tied behind her neck, showing off her well-muscled arms. The top showed off some of her tanned stomach and was also extremely tight. "I do hope no man gets the wrong idea and attacks her."

Through the wonderful meal, Daine and Annie chatted with each other. Daine could see the animals seemed unusually attracted to Annie, prompting her to ask about it. "Animals like you"

"yah, they seem very attached to you though." Replied Annie, eyeing the arrangement of animals hanging off Daine.

"I have a magical bond with 'em, I'm a wild mage. But what about you? Do you have any type of magic, bonding you with them?"

"Hell no! I don't believe in stuff like that. That's Harry Potter rubbish! And what's a Mage?" (A/N: sorry HP fans, its true though. Don't yell at me! -**Goes hiding in the corner, protecting herself from angry HP fans-**) Daine could not believe what she had just heard. It was one thing not to believe in Wild Magic, lots of people didn't. But not to believe in magic? And not no what a mage was.

"A mage is like a wizard. And where did you say you were from? And what year?"

"I'm from Florida. Year 2004." Daine sighed.

"Oh goddess. I think you have gone back in time."

A/N: well, there's chapter 3! Please review! It's a simple little button. You know you want to press it. Just press is, pretty please with sugar on top. Lol. I do hope you like. I will update tomorrow at some point. I want 5 updates though by tomorrow, 3 more to go! Well, review, review, and review!

Emily


	4. AN:READ THIS!

A/N: ok, this is NOT a chapter, but you do need to read this. I'm thinking of making this story and my R rated story into one. I have a perfect idea of how to and... it's never been done! At least I think. My other story is called Tears of Pain. It probably doesn't need the R rating, I think It would be fine at PG-13, but I'm just being safe. So, what do you think? I'm not sure, because no one REVIEWS! My summaries aren't THAT bad, are they? Flames are aloud, as long as they are intelligent. So, REVIEW y'all! I need to know what is thought. Please please please! Lol. begs nice people to tell her what they think well, later all. And REVIEW!  
  
Emily 


	5. Confused

"What do you mean back in time? What the hell is going on? Th-th-that's Impossible!" Annie looked horribly confused.

"I'm not sure. But we are obviously not in the same year!" Annie's face had gone pale white.

"I'm just so confused. I was brought up believing things like this are impossible. Magic, all that. here I come, running from home, from trouble and BAM! Here's more trouble." With that Annie broke down in tears.

10 minutes later, Annie had controlled herself. She smiled grimly at Daine. "I'm sorry. I guess we will just figure it out later. So, um, you said you're a Wild Mage. What is that?"

"I have wild magic, a rare form of magic allowing me to talk to animals, change into them, and heal them". Annie's eyes opened in amazement.

"you can TALK to animals? Can you talk to Pita? What does he say? Does he like me? Does..."

"hold on child! We can talk to him later. And judging by the fact that quite a few of these animals seem attracted to you, I'd say he like you." Annie gave her a smile and Yawned.

"I'm tired, I'm gonna head up and get some sleep. Thanks so much Daine."

"night." And with a wave, Annie headed up to her room.

A/N: ok, I no I no, very short chapter. I just wanted to get you to understand that Annie does have a bond with animals, its just not magical. Well, REVIEW please. Or else... lol.

Emily


	6. Something about her

A/N: um, REVIEW! Lol.

That night, Annie's sleep was fitful. She dreamed of her home, her parents, and their hands. _She was in a dark room, pain filling her, voices jeered at her in her head. It was hard to breath. The pain was unbearable. It wouldn't stop. She was going to die, slowly and torturouse. She knew it. _

She woke up in a cold sweat. She wondered what time it was and looked out the window. The sun was coming up. "I guess I will go down to the barns, ride Pita. That's one person I can always count on, Pita." She hastily got dressed and walked out into the doors. Suddenly she remembered something-she had absolutely no clue as of how to get to the stables. she walked around mindlessly for a while until she ran into a woman, who seemed to be cleaning.

"um, excuse me but you wouldn't happen to know how to get to the stables, would you?" the woman hastily gave Annie some directions. She didn't remember them and there for spent the next hour trying to find where she was going. Finally she arrived at the barns. Where another problem surfaced. There were quite a few barns. "shit" she muttered under her breath. So she walked in and started wondering the aisles trying to find Pita. Lucky for her, he was in what seemed to be the main barn.

"you'd think they would have a directory for this place!" she exclaimed to the gelding. "this is worse than the mall!"

"your out early" a voice coming from the next stall called out.

"yah, well, I would have been here earlier cept I got lost and it took an hour to find my way here!" Daine laughed.

"it will get easier, eventually. So, you going for a ride?"

"yah, its cool this time in the morning. Um, do you know where my tack is?" Daine showed the younger girl where to find the strange tack. As Annie pulled out Pita, she noticed Daine leading out a small grey pony. The woman seemed to be deep in conversation with the mare, who was also eyeing a feed bin. She smiled to herself, inhaling the deep horsey scent of the stable. It was the one place she felt safe. "the only place" she told herself.

Daine watched the girl trot and canter Pita around. She was a very good rider, but her riding style, like her tack, was something Daine had never seen before. As she stood on cloud near the fence watching the girl, she heard a familier female voice behind her.

"who's that?" Daine turned to Onua.

"his names Pita, he's new. He and his rider somehow traveled through time. He sure is a beauty, isn't he." Onua laughed.

"I was talking about the girl, but horse, human, same thing."

"her name's Annie. I don't know much about her. She seems nice, and animals love her."

Annie noticed the two woman talking by the fence and rode over.

"hi" she said to the unfamiliar woman. She looked up.

"oh, hello, I was just watching you. I'm Onua. I help out with the Queens Riders."

"what's that?" Onua and Daine looked at each other and explained to the girl.

"hrm, interesting. Well, I'm going to put up Pita. Nice to meet ya Onua. Bye." And with that she walked up. Onua looked at Daine.

"there's something about that girl. I cant place it, but there's something to her."

"I thought the same thing" replied Daine. "I will ask her horse, he seems to love her."

A/N: well, that's all for tonight folks. Lol. I hoped you liked my chapters tonight. Please tell me what you think! I need reviews. 2 more to 5! Lol. REVIEW y'all! Thanks for those who have. Hope ya like my updates.

Emily


	7. Arguments and teachers

A/N: ok, here's yet another chappy for my story! I hope its ok so far. I'm not sure yet what I will do with my other story, I have only had 1 person say yes, and one says my others depressing. Lol. Ok, thanks those of you who have reviewed. I don't feel like writing names, but thanks so much. Y'all are helping me a lot. And I figured out the whole no/know thing. Lol. Isn't that sad that I had to ask my mom about that and I'm going into 9th grade, honors classes? Language arts teachers today. Shakes head I will try writing it in a different format, that hopefully should be easier to read. Also sorry the last 2 chapters were so short. This one WILL be longer. I promise. Ok, now about this chapter, lol. I'm not sure how this one will come out. It may be different from how TP has things. Its one of the chapters though that I have had planned for a while. Also, hopefully this is the only chapter where Annie does something that most of us wouldn't normally do. I want to write this chap. So that you can see some things about Annie. So, I really hope this ones good. And also, this chapter does contain A LOT of cursing. So, just a warning for you guys. Thanks for those of you who review! Oh yah, a question. What does SLASH, AU, and OOC mean? I mean on ff.net. I can't figure it out. Isn't that sad? Anyways, without further ado, chapter 6  
  
Oh yah! Disclaimer: sadly, none of the characters belong to me. They belonged to thy sacred Tamora Pierce. I do own Annie, Pita, and Master. Laine (it that what they call their teachers, the Pages and squires? If its not, sorry if I made a mistake and please tell me if I'm wrong.) yeah! I own something. Does a little happy dance  
  
As Annie was riding Pita back to the stables, the pages and squires were coming out to train (A/N: in my story, they train in the morning. Also, do pages and squires train together? I'm not sure.) Annie's mouth dropped as she watched the group of boys before her.  
  
"What's the shock?" Daine had ridden up beside Annie, scaring the girl.  
  
"The shock? Dude, I come to put my horse away and there are hundreds of guys with old-fashioned weapons. Many of the guys HOT!" (A/N: I had to, sorry. Lol. But you would think...)  
  
Daine laughed and then frowned. "What do you mean by 'old fashioned'?"  
  
"Sorry, I keep forgetting I'm not in the 20th century anymore. They are just old fashioned compared to what we have." The young girl blushed slightly.  
  
'Its ok. Now, lets take care of theses horses and go in"  
  
The day found Annie wondering around the palace and playing with the palace animals. The next morning she and Daine again rode in the morning. While they were untacking their horses, Annie asked, "Um, do you guys have schools and stuff here?"  
  
"Yah, the pages and squires must take classes."  
  
Annie looked interested. "What types? Because I was wondering if I could maybe you know, go and maybe go to some classes. I don't want to be behind at school, and I would like to meet some people my own age."  
  
"Well, they study math and some other classes (A/N: do they have science? What all do they have? I'm to lazy to look.)"  
  
"Could I go and sit through some of them? I'm in geometry at school."  
  
Daine thought about it for a moment. She didn't really know that much about the knights. She mostly worked with the riders and such. But she couldn't believe anyone would mind. There was already one girl already. And it would be good for Annie to meet some people her own age. "I think it will be ok. They start at one. I will meet you outside your door and show you to the classes."  
  
A grin lit Annie's face. "Thanks!" and with that she headed towards the palace. She was going to be with guys her age after all. She had to look presentable!  
  
True to her word, at one Daine was at Annie's door. Annie heard her knock just as she was putting on a final touch of lip-gloss. "Coming!" she yelled as she walked to the door. Taking one last glance at the mirror she opened the door.  
  
Daine was pretty shocked to see the change in the girl's appearance. She had bathed and put on face paint, causing her to look much older than the 15 years old she had told Daine she was. She wore a thin strapped, tight top, which showed off her nicely muscled arms. Like she usually did, she wore the strange pants. She also seemed to have grown somewhat taller. "Magic"? Daine thought, until she noticed Annie's ridiculously tall heels on her shoes. "Lets go"  
  
When they reached the hall, which contained the classes, Daine pointed her to the first room. "Math" she said.  
  
"Thank you so much-for every thing" Annie said soberly. Daine grinned and left, leaving Annie in the empty hall. She took a deep breath and walked in.  
  
Master. Laine was in the middle of yelling at a page, which had not finished his assignment when he heard the door open. In stepped a young woman. She was dressed in a very scandalous outfit (well, to people back then it was) and was very pretty. "Um, hi. I'm Annie".  
  
Master.Laine looked at her, confused. "Why are you here?"  
  
"Erm, same reason everyone else is here. To learn stuff, I'm kinda new here, long story. And I thought it would be nice to see what the schools are like. And, well, be around people my own age." Annie was getting nervous, as every one in the class was looking at her as if she were from some other world, which in a way she was, but that was beside the point.  
  
"You're wasting your time. I'm not teaching some whore." The gruff voice emphasized the last word.  
  
"WHAT did you just say?" Annie's eyes were stormy. Her voice was etched with anger.  
  
"I said I refuse to teach some girl. A common street whore."  
  
"Why do you think that?"  
  
"I speak the truth. Now get out, you're not getting any business here."  
  
Annie struggled to control her anger. "I am not a prostitute, or a whore. I am an innocent girl, and I deserve to be treated with respect."  
  
He laughed. "I don't have to respect a damn woman. Now, get out."  
  
Annie lost control. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? You accuse me of being a whore, and just coming to get business. And you tell me you don't need to respect her? And you refuse me the right to learn? Well, guess what? I deserve that right. And YOU can't do anything about it."  
  
The rest of the class gasped at her. Master. Laine swept over to the girl. "Do you know who I am? I am a very respected man. A common girl will not talk me like that. Now, get out. I don't have to do anything. Nothing gives you the right to be here. Get out of my sight." His voice was eerily calm.  
  
Across the hall, Kel was gazing into space when she heard the angry shouts coming from out side. It wasn't strange to hear yelling, the teachers yelled all the time. But, this was different. It was a girl. One who's voice Kel had never heard before. The boy sitting next to her heard it to.  
  
"Who's that?" asked Neal  
  
"I'm not sure. But I think we are gonna find out!"  
  
Sure enough, the teacher had walked to the door to see what was going on. He opened it and the group of student followed, eager to see what was happening. What they found was shocking. A pretty blonde girl stood in a defensive position looking up at Master.Laine, a teacher who scared most everyone. They girl was dressed strangely, in a revealing top and tight pants. To her amusement, Kel noticed several of the pages were ogling at her.  
  
"YOU'RE A DAMN RASCIST PIG! YOU JACK ASS! YOUR JUST JELOUSE, WANTING ME TO BE A PROSITUTE CUZ THAT'S ALL YOU'LL EVER BE WITH! YOU FUCKIN PIG.  
  
For once, Master.Laine was completely speechless.  
  
"How much?" asked one page. Obviously the fact that the girl was not happy about being called a prostitute had not registered in Joren's mind, for following that comment he reached in an attempt to grope her.  
  
Big mistake  
  
Annie whirled around, blue eyes blazing with fury. "YOU DAMN PERVERT!" she exploded.  
  
"Oh you know what I mean." Joren said sheepishly, reaching to touch her in places that just shouldn't be messed with.  
  
"PERVERT!" Annie screeched, slapping him hard across the face.  
  
"You little bitch!" Jornen yelled. His fist smashed into her face.  
  
/Flashback/ She had forgotten to take dinner out of the oven and had burned it. Her dad was furious. His menacing form hovered over her. Her mom saw, well, at least that's what Annie thought, considering she had just seen her mothers form in the kitchen door. Her attention snapped back to her father as his fist smashed across her face. "YOU good for nothing little bitch," he was screaming. Then the flash of his hands and legs, viscously beating down on her, as he screamed over and over at her. Her small body hovering in a corner. Her pain was excruciating. She wasn't sure if he would kill her this time, or if he would end up killing her another time. /End Flashback/  
  
"Don't touch me!" her words were emphasized as her knee slammed hard into his groin.  
  
"What is going on here?" everyone turned to see a man glaring at them all.  
  
"Sir. Myles" Master.Laine said. "This young lady came into my class expecting to get men and when I told her to leave, she got mad"  
  
"And you?" Myles was looking at Joren, whose nose was bleeding pretty heavily and was crouched over in pain.  
  
"I fell"  
  
"BULL SHIT! The both of you. I beat you up," she said, looking at Joren. "And you" her glazing eyes rested on Master.Laine, "you called me a whore and prostitute when I came into your class, hoping to learn, and when I tried to reason with you, you wouldn't listen. Sir," she spoke to Myles, "I am sorry that me trying to learned caused such a commotion. But I am not from around here. It's a long story, one I barely understand, but I was not here to pick up men. I am not some street whore. I simply wanted to see what schools were like here. And I believe that I deserve to have that right. I'm real smart; I do well in my classes. You can test me on it."  
  
"Interesting." Myles looked thoughtful. "Maybe we can have you take a test, yes, a test, to see what you know. If you pass, you will be allowed to stay and learn, but you will be treated like the rest of the pages. And if you are caught, um, 'selling yourself', you will leave. If you fail, you can stay."  
  
"Sounds fair to me sir. Now, where is the test?"  
  
Two hours later, Annie was watching her test being graded.  
  
"You passed," announced Myles.  
  
"I will be here tomorrow for class" she said, smirking at Master.Laine, who was sneering at the girl. "Love ya!" she said over her shoulder as she hopped off, blonde hair bouncing perkily.  
  
A/N: well, there's the chapter. I hope you liked. About the Myles thing-I cant for the life of me remember who would actually be in charge of something like that. So I just used him cuz he's supposed to be smart and stuff, so, yah. But PLEASE correct me so I can change it. Thankies! Now, REVIEW. It's the nice little button. Clickety-click! And don't forget to answer my questions about what SLASH, AU, and OOC means and who would really be in charge. So, REVIEW! I hope y'all liked.  
  
Emily  
  
O yah, this chapter is much longer than usual. 8 pages on word in fact. I'm so proud of myself. Lol. Now, don't just sit there, REVIEW! 


	8. Flashback

A/N: ok, this chapter is really, really sad. It explains about Annie's past. I wrote this to the song Concrete Angel by Martina McBride. I'm writing this story now, while I have drive, but I can't upload it for a while cause apparently, I broke some fan fic rule. So my other story, Twisted, is down, but its on The CSI board under another name and will be under this one again soon. Sorry bout the inconvenience. Well, it's not much, just some background, but enjoy! And R&R!  
  
Disclaimer: Annie belongs to me! Every thing else belongs to Tamora Pierce. This chapter is based on the song Concrete Angel by Martina McBride. Please don't sue-I am only a poor equestrian. Lol.  
  
She remembered it in detail. When it started. She would go to school, wearing the same filthy cloths as she did before. And they teased her for it. They didn't notice the bruises. If they did, they ignored it. Once or twice she saw the teacher glance at them, confused. But she never did anything. It got worse and worse. She would never cry, they hated that. But one night, it got so intense.  
  
She remembered the night. Who knows what they were mad at her for. But it was bad. Very, very bad. It was the worse beating she had gotten. When it was over, she sat in the nook looking out her window. She couldn't help herself. She started sobbing, her body shaking violently. Tears stained her bruised face. Outside, she saw a neighbor look up at her window. Watching that little girl looking out, crying. She could have helped, said something. Instead, the woman shook her head and went inside, turning out her light.  
  
Angry footsteps echoed through the halls. They had heard her cries. Soon, her earlier beating seemed like a nice massage compared to this. It was horrible. She could remember the feeling of that metal rod, the feeling of those heavy steal boots kicking her small figure. She still wasn't sure how she made it. She couldn't quite remember much, after he had pushed her down the stairs. She remembered reaching the phone, dialing 911 and whispering into it "please help me. I don't want to die".  
  
Cynthia Bardon had had a lot of hard phone calls come into her, being a 911 operator. But none of them ever made her cry, until the little girl. She recalled the call clearly. It had been late at night, she was tired and annoyed, feeling over worked and under paid. Suddenly, the phone rang. She answered it to find silence. "Damn, another prank call" she though, but a few seconds later, what sounded like a little whimper came to her ears. Then a little girl's weak voice, "please help me, I don't want to die". Cynthia would remember that as long as she lives, the young girls voice so heavy with pain. Then the line went dead. Luckily not before Cynthia could get the address. "Oh God, please don't let it be too late" she prayed, before breaking down into uncontrollable tears.  
  
She almost died they told her. She was lucky. Yah, right, lucky. She thought that an investigation would occur, and the police would see what bad people her real mommy and daddy were and take her to a nice mommy and daddy, who loved her. But her parents, if that's what you could even call them, lied. They said she fell down the stairs, and got in fights at school. They pretended to be all scared and worried about her. But she saw right through it. She wasn't stupid. She knew in a matter of days, it would be the same. She wished very much that the police would help her, but they didn't. They never even talked to her.  
  
"And things never got better. They never stopped hurting me. Eight years later, and I was still getting beat up" she mused to herself. But through the years, she had been able to build a barrier around herself. She never allowed herself to get close to anyone. She would go to school, do her schoolwork, and stay by herself, alone. She wouldn't allow herself friends. Her only comfort was her horse. She couldn't imagine what she would do without him.  
  
"Its nice here" she though, looking out her window. "I don't care if I am in a completely different world and time period, I like it here. There's no one here to beat me up, to hurt me. That's good, I'm still to young to die, and you never know, when they discover me gone, they will probably kill me. And if not then, it will eventually happen. I just wonder what excuse they will use when it does. When they finally kill me."  
  
A/N: told ya it was sad. I hope it brought tears to your eyes though, cause writing it I almost cried. Please Read and Respond! Tell me if you like. Thanks to those who have reviewed. Keep it up! R&R!  
  
Emily 


	9. truth be told

A/N: well, again, sorry I haven't been able to update. Stupid fan fic. Lol. Well, I'm back updating! But I am having MAJOR writers block. Well, this chapter might be a little out of character for Kel, and she could seem like somewhat of a bitch. I'm sorry about that. I like Kel a lot but this is something I HAD to do to make my story work. I promise this will all be better next chapter. I'm still not sure about putting this story together with Gathering Courage. I still need y'all to tell me what you think. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed. Please keep it up! And I promise I wont have so many authors' notes in the story. Lol. So, please tell me what you think!  
  
Disclaimer: don't own 'em, wish I did, but I don't. So don't sue me, 'cause I'm just a poor equestrian.  
  
Emily  
  
Kel flopped back on her bed, her mind reflecting of that afternoon's event. She couldn't get over the fact that someone had actually had the courage to talk back to a teacher. The girl, Annie, she was strange. And honestly, that scared Kel a bit. That this complete stranger walked in and was already the topic of her friend's conversation. She knew she shouldn't be judging her, she hadn't even met her. But Kel wasn't particularly fond of what she knew about her. Maybe it was because Annie didn't have to do anything the other pages had to do, maybe Kel was jealous. She sighed. She would try to get to know Annie before judging her.  
  
Mean while, Annie also lay, absorbed in thought. She could not believe that she had talked back to a teacher! And along with that, she had given a pervert a piece of her mind. Her mouth formed a smile as she thought about that. Stupid boy. She yawned. "I should be getting to sleep," she murmured to herself. She would think about it in the morning.  
  
Annie awoke to a sun lit room. She got herself out of bed, and quickly dressed for riding. In a matter of minutes she was at the stables. She could finally make it without getting lost, that made her happy. When she reached the stables, Daine was already there, in what appeared to be deep conversation with a barn cat. Annie shook her head and walked to Pita's stall, muttering something about crazy people under her breath.  
  
"Annie! You're here." Daine had taken notice to her presence.  
  
"Morning" Annie greeted.  
  
"Um, I have to ask you something. Do you think you could teach me a little about your style of riding?" Daine seemed a bit embarrassed about asking this question.  
  
Annie grinned. "Sure! But we will have to use Pita, I don't think these horses would be good to learn on, considering they have never been ridden in one."  
  
Annie had a pretty good laugh watching the older woman learn how to ride on the unfamiliar English tack. "That's enough for today," Annie said, taking notice of Daine's scowling face. She took Pita from Daine and lifted her self up, so she could get some cantering in. as she rode, she became aware of a group of teens who were watching her. The group consisted of quite a few boys and one girl. Annie pulled Pita up to the fence to talk.  
  
"Hey!" she said, her voice friendly.  
  
The teens greeted her back, and then the questions came.  
  
"What's your name"?  
  
"Where are you from?"  
  
"Are you crazy or just stupid?"  
  
Annie laughed at the last question. "I'm Annie, I'm from Florida, which you haven't heard of 'cause its from the future and a parallel universe thing that I don't quite understand but that's ok, and I'm just crazy, I think. Though that old dude and pervert did deserve what they got."  
  
Kel sighed as her friends bombarded the girl with questions. As they chattered, she kept herself occupied by petting the beautiful bay gelding that Annie was riding.  
  
"Are you going to have to eat and work with the pages and stuff because you're taking classes with us?"  
  
"We think it would be a good idea if you did, well, maybe not work, but eat and stuff with the pages. I was going to tell you that later." Annie had not seen Daine walking up behind her until she had spoken.  
  
"Ok, I agree." Replied Annie. She thought it might be fun to hang out with kids her own age. It didn't help that these boys were for the most part, extremely hot. "What do y'all study work wise?" Annie was very curious about this. She looked thoughtful as it was explained. "Sounds hard"  
  
"It is" said a bored Kel.  
  
"Oh hey! Are there many females training?"  
  
The Tortallians erupted with laughter. "Gods no, Kel's the only one. We only have one lady knight, and one training."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Now, if you boys are done questioning her, lets go before we're late." Kel Said crossly.  
  
"See you later!"  
  
"Bye." Annie wasn't sure what to think about that interaction. The guys seemed nice, but the girl, Kel, she did not like Annie. She sighed. "I guess I should try to talk to her," thought Annie, as she took care of Pita.  
  
The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Up until dinner. It had been decided that Annie would eat with the pages, and the group she had talked to earlier invite Annie to eat with them. When she got there, the look of annoyance on Kel's face did not go unnoticed by Annie. The group seemed tight, joking around about many things. Annie didn't talk much, she was pretty shy. The guys tried to make her feel welcome, but Annie didn't know how comfortable she could be with Kel shooting her bitchy looks when she talked about her life in America.  
  
Kel sat glaring at Annie. She was way to perky and sweet. Her life seemed so perfect that Kel couldn't help but dislike her. And the way the guys were so absorbed in her. She was pretty, but not drop dead gorgeous. "Its probably because she dressy so strange" thought Kel. Finally, dinner was over. But as she stood up, Annie confronted her.  
  
"Hey, um, can you come to my room for a few minutes? I need to talk to you." Annie did not want an enemy here, especially with the only girl her age. That why she intended to have a nice conversation with Kel.  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
The two girls made their way to Annie's room. Once they were in, Annie shut and locked the door. Sitting down, she took a deep breath. "You don't like me much, do you?"  
  
Kel was surprised with this girl's abruptness. "I-I-I doesn't even know you very well."  
  
Annie rolled her eyes. "Girl, where I come from, it's basically a sixth sense to know when your not liked. So, why don't you like me? I want to know so I can try to fix it. I don't want to be hated by the only person my age."  
  
Kel hesitated before replying. "Your so, perfect! You come in, tell off a teacher, teach someone I hate not to mess with you, and have an overall perfect life!"  
  
It took a minute for Annie to register what Kel had said. "You think my life's perfect," she finally said, very quietly. "During dinner, I left out some very important aspects of my life." Kel's accusation that her life was perfect had angered Annie. She continued. "Did you know that when I came here, I was running away? Does that sound like I lived perfectly?"  
  
"I-I-I guesses it doesn't."  
  
"Damn right it doesn't. Want to know why I was running?" Annie slowly turned around and slowly lifted her shirt up (A/N: this is NOT going to be slash, doesn't worry. Lol, nothing bad's going to happen. Just so we don't have any misunderstandings.) She her back was revealed, Kel gasped. Annie's back was covered with large bruises, welts, and scars. Some were recent, others not. But it looked like someone had many times given her a whipping. Annie pulled her shirt back down and spun around to face Kel. "Want to know how those got there? My Dad, sometimes my Mom. They hit me, a lot. And not just on my back." Tears now streamed down Annie's face.  
  
"Oh my gosh, I didn't know. I'm so sorry Annie, I just thought that, well..."  
  
Annie wiped her eyes. "Its understandable. I guess. I try to put up a brave cover. But I ran from home 'cause I feared for my life. They almost killed me, when I was littler. And several times when I was older. But they beat me up bad more times than I can count. I didn't count on telling you this, but I thought you should know. I just hope now we can be friends."  
  
Kel had to struggle to keep her Yamani mask up. "Yah, I would like to be friends to" she managed to say. And with that, the two girls hugged, as if sealing their truce.  
  
A/N: ok, well, that's the chapter! As I said, sorry I had to make Kel a bitch for a while. I didn't like it, but I had to do it. I had writers block on that chapter, so sorry if you didn't like. Also, I made a mistake. I put in chapter 7 I think that Joren was a Page, though I really meant to make this take place in Kel's 4th year as a page. Gah. I'm so sorry about that. I will try to change it but if I cant, lets just pretend I did. Lol. Well, read and respond! I need to hear those reviews! Lol.  
  
Emily 


	10. Kala

A/N: ok, well, I'm not quite sure how good this chapter is. I am trying to include D/N fluff but, well, basically I suck at fluff. Lol. I am going to try my hand at this but please don't hate me if it sucks. Just tell me so I don't keep writing bad stuff. I also had somewhat of writers block. I have a chapter in mind, but first I decided to bring Numair into the story. So, please review. I want to know what y'all think.  
  
Disclaimer: this all belongs to Tamora Pierce. Though if she doesn't want them... lol.  
  
Emily  
  
That morning, as Annie and Daine tacked up, Annie noticed that Daine seemed distracted. Annie thought about asking about it but then decided against it. After they had been riding for a while, Daine pulled Cloud up to Annie.  
  
"So, want to continue those lessons?"  
  
"Ok, but can I ride your pony?"  
  
"Sure!"  
  
The two woman exchanged horses. As Daine got on Pita and started riding him, Annie noticed a tall stranger in the shadows, watching them. The man was very, very tall and had dark hair that was tied back. But he really wasn't studying Annie, it was more Daine. Annie decided to ignore the man, and turned back to scold Daine on her posting trot.  
  
"Well, well. Never thought I'd see the day that our wildmage would be being scolded on horseback. You slipping on me magelet?" The dark man was advancing towards them. Daine suddenly gave a happy squeal, leaping off Pita and leaping towards the man.  
  
"Numair!" she yelled happily as he pulled her into a passionate kiss.  
  
"I knew she was in love," Annie thought with a smirk. Wordlessly, she leaded Cloud and Pita back to a barn. A few minutes later, Daine and the man identified as Numair came in, holding onto each other.  
  
"Annie, this is Numair, the person I told you about who might be able to figure out what's going on. He taught me all I know about wild magic. Numair, this is Annie, she and her horse just dropped here, from the future in some strange universe."  
  
Numair looked thoughtful. "There might be something about this in my books..." he wondered off.  
  
Daine laughed. "He's going to be in his books for hours." Annie grinned at her.  
  
"So, he's your boyfriend?"  
  
Daine looked confused. "What's a 'boyfriend?'"  
  
Annie sighed. "Like, a lover or something."  
  
"Oh, yah, he is." Daine smiled broadly.  
  
"Well, I better get ready. Bye Daine!"  
  
Annie walked up to her rooms to get ready. Two hours later, she was meeting up with Kel and her other friends.  
  
"Hey Annie, we actually get tomorrow off from classes. Want to go down to city with us?" Neal asked.  
  
"Shopping? HELL YAH!" Annie wanted to get out and see Tortall.  
  
Kel smiled. "Great, we will meet you at your door tomorrow afternoon at 12." Annie could hardly wait.  
  
The next after noon, Annie was ready to go at exactly noon. She hadn't ridden that morning and had taken special care of her appearance. She had applied all her makeup, including her eyes stuff for the first time since arriving at Tortall. Someone knocked at the door. Annie glanced once more in the mirror before opening it. In her door stood Kel and Neal.  
  
"The others couldn't make it," explained Kel. Annie couldn't help but notice the adoring glances she kept throwing at Neal.  
  
"Ok, how are we getting there?"  
  
"Riding silly!" Annie looked at Neal, oh, um; in that case, I should change my shoes. And do you think I could borrow a Tortall horse? I don't really want to deal with Pita and stuff."  
  
"I don't see why not. Lets go when you're done changing your shoes."  
  
Half an hour later, the three were on their way to the City. Annie rode a large pony mare, named Lady. Lady was a beautiful chestnut pony, and was very muscular. She also had an extreme attitude. She was a looker and a cute mover, and by the time they had reached the city, Annie was convinced that that little mare knew it. (A/N: yes, based on my real life mare, Lady)  
  
"Welcome to the heart of Tortall" Neal and Kel said together as hostlers took the horses. Suddenly thunder rumbled.  
  
"DAMN!" cursed Annie.  
  
"We can still hang out a little." Neal said.  
  
They spent some time going looking at the out door stalls. Annie was enthralled in all of it. She had never seen anything like this before.  
  
"You like?" Kel broke Annie's thoughts.  
  
"Its amazing." Annie smiled. But that smile disappeared as the clouds opened up and it started pouring.  
  
"Lets go and get some food inside!" Shouted Neal over the pounding rain.  
  
"FRIGGIN RAIN!" this cuss came from potty-mouthed Annie. Kel just chuckled.  
  
"We can wait the rain out inside."  
  
Two hours later it was still raining. And it wasn't going to let up.  
  
"Lets just go!" Kel was aggravated.  
  
"Yah, I just hope this doesn't spook the horses." Kel and Neal just laughed.  
  
The three walked out to brave the rain. Luckily, the rain was becoming lighter. But as they walked past and Ally, Annie heard a noise. She stopped, it sounded like a whimper, a cry. Coming from the ally. "You guys! Wait, I think I just heard someone crying!" Annie turned back and peered into the Ally. Sure enough she could see a figure, slumped against a dirty wall. It was holding what looked like a knife up.  
  
"STOP!!!!!!!!!!" Annie screamed, as the figure brought down the knife. She ran up to it. In the light, she could see it was a girl, about 16. She turned to Annie and Annie gasped. The girls face was tear stained, bloody and bruised. "Oh my gosh" she whispered, sitting down next to the girl and gently taking the knife from her.  
  
"Give that back. Please, just let me end the pain!" her voice was hollow and sad.  
  
"Annie! What is it?" Kel and Neal rushed to Annie. "Who is this?"  
  
"What is your name?" Annie's voice was gentle and understanding. She had been in this same predicament before.  
  
"Kala" she whispered.  
  
"Ok, Kala, we are going to take you back to the palace and get you cleaned up. Then, we are going to talk. Come on; let's not waste more time out here. Its cold and wet."  
  
"That girl, Annie, she seems caring." Thought Kala. Then, "its an act, we all know it. They will just hurt you more. She can't possibly know what this is like. But if you follow her to the palace, once you get there you can finish off what you were doing." Kala reluctantly allowed herself to be helped to her feet. But when Neal tried to help her, she leapt away from his touch.  
  
"Let me handle it Neal, can you and Kel just get the horses? Please?"  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Annie turned to Kala. "We will talk when we get to the palace." She said firmly. "And don't even think about trying to kill yourself there. You're going to be under my watch, or in a room with nothing harmful."  
  
A/N: well, hope you liked. Yes, I have decided to bring in Kala. If you haven't read it yet, read my other story Tears Of Pain for her story. I hope you guys liked. I want reviews! I want more! More I say! Lol. Really though. I like to hear from y'all. Flames are allowed, as long as they are intelligent. So press the pretty little button and review.  
  
Emily 


	11. Tough

A/N: Hey all! Sorry I haven't been on in forever. I have been sick for the past few days. I'm still not feeling great, but I'm sure a few reviews would help fix that! lol. This chapter is going to be in Kala's POV because it just didn't work right in normal format. Please tell me what you think by REVIEWING! Don't matter if you love or hate, though I hope you love! Just tell me what you think. Well, enjoy.  
  
Disclaimer: still not mine, Tamora Pierce's. I wish I owned them. I do own Annie and Kala though. That's something, I think. Lol.  
  
Emily  
  
My eyes fluttered open as I slowly woke up. I was stiff all over, my head was pounding. I heard a female voice from outside the door. Suddenly, all the events came rushing back. That voice belonged to that idiot who stopped me from ending my pain. I could remember her voice soothing me as she and her two little friends brought me back here. I listened closer as her voice rose outside of the room.  
  
"no way, no men are to step in this room or near this girl. I have a strong suspicion that would be a huge mistake. I don't really care if he is the head healer, I don't want any males near her."  
  
"How the hell did she know this stuff?" I wonder to myself.  
  
"also, I don't want her to be alone at all. She was trying to kill herself when I found her. She will try it again to. I don't want her to die. She's to young."  
  
Who the hell was this girl? I knew nobles, she didn't seem like one. Nobles were pomptiouse idiots who cared only about their appearance, the didn't give a crap about commoners. The door sqeaked open and a large woman, a healer I assumed came in.  
  
"your awake."  
  
"Well duh, that's stating the obvious". a voice behind her says. Healer turns and gives the speaker an evil look.  
  
"you need to learn your manners and respect a healer miss." She turns her attention back to me and starts talking. I didn't really pay attention. I'm to busy observing the blonde behind her. I only notice the healer when she does something to me. My attention snaps back to her and I ask the dreaded question I have been wondering since it happened.  
  
"am I pregnant?" the healer looks down at me and puts her hand to my stomach. A few minutes later, she gives the answer that will change my life.  
  
"No." it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I thanks her and she leaves, leaving me with that stranger. She walks over to me and sits down at the edge of my cot.  
  
"feeling better? You were in pretty bad shape when we found you."  
  
"no." I'm not giving her anymore than I have to and want to.  
  
"so, what's your name?"  
  
"Kala"  
  
"I'm Annie." I look up at her. Her deep blue eyes carry a sadness in them. "Kala, what happened to you. Please let me at least try to help you." I turn away. I'm not saying a word. "would it help if I said I know how you feel?" bull shit. She cant possible know. she sighs heavily. "I was hurt to you know." and with that she gets up. Leaving me alone. Well, except for the person In the corner of the room. Right before leaving the room, Annie turns around. "please let me help you Kala." I look at her, tears stream down her face.  
  
"I cant." I whisper. "I just can't". I close my eyes and try to fall back to sleep.  
  
A/N: eh, not a great chapter. Short and not so great. Sorry, my brain just wont work tonight. Oh well. Please review though! Tell me what you think! I hope you enjoyed. But tell me by clicking the little purplish button. Lol.  
  
Emily 


	12. confessions

A/N: Thanks sooooo much for all the reviews! Please keep sending them because it makes me so happy to read them. Thanks to those who have.  
  
Emily  
  
Disclaimer: all this belongs to Tamora Pierce.  
  
A soft sob woke Kala up from her slumber. She slowly lifted her head and looked to see the source of the sound. She was very surprised to relies it was Annie. Annie sensed that Kala had wakened and lifted her head up. Her face was red and blotchy from crying and her eyes were bloodshot. Annie felt a hand cover hers and managed to give Kala a weak smile. She sniffed and wiped her teary eyes.  
  
"What happened?" Kala's voice was concerned.  
  
"Nothing, sorry, just, seeing you here brings back memories." Relising what she had said, Annie covered her mouth. She didn't really want people to know about her parents. She didn't want people to get involved and give her false hope. She hadn't given Kel the whole story and didn't intend to ever tell anyone. Still, she wanted so bad to tell this girl the truth. Something told Annie that Kala would understand. She decided to trust this instinct.  
  
"What do you mean 'bad memories?'" Kala was confused. There was no way this girl could have gone through something bad like she had been through. Annie sighed and wiped her sleeve on her forehead. Annie had worn sleeveless blouses when she first arrived in Tortall. But then her bruises from her last beating had set in and Annie had switched to her customary v-necked long sleeved blouses. Now, Kala got a glimpse of a bruise under the sleeve. She grabbed the younger girls arm and pulled up Annie's sleeve to reveal a colorfully patterned arm. She gasped and looked Annie strait in the eyes.  
  
"It started when I was little. Like, 2 or 3. I can't remember. At first he only drank a little bit, that when he would hurt me. He would just smack me sometimes, nothing bad. But as I grew older, it got worse. And he would drink more and hurt me worse. By the time I was 8, it was really horrible. When I was around nine, it almost killed me. I had done something to piss him off, I cant remember what. Probably something really small, it didn't take much to make him mad. So, he started hitting me and kicking me hard. He had me backed into a corner and was just screaming and kicking and hitting. Then he started smacking me with a kitchen chair. My mom saw the whole thing, but she didn't do a damn thing. She never did. So, anyway, when it was done, I went to my room. And it had been so bad, I actually started crying. When I was little, I learned crying was bad, it made him mad. So I learned never to cry. Well, he got even madder and came storming up the stairs. He had put on his steel-toed boots. He smashed me up pretty good, and then kicked me down the full flight of steps. I was able to reach the hospital." Noticing the confused look on Kala's face when she said hospital, Annie explained. "Its like a healers place. Anyways, an investigation was conducted, but my parents lied. The police, who are people who are supposed to make sure people obey the law, well, they closed it. Lazy ass holes just didn't wanna spend the time. After that, the abuse still never stopped. Until I decided to run away and got transported here."  
  
Kala was shocked. Annie's story was as disturbing as hers. She knew she had to tell. "Hey, at least he never, you know, touched."  
  
"Raped me you mean."  
  
"Erm, yeah. When I was younger, my father died. We were poor commoners and just, are life wasn't very nice. So one day, this man comes and claims he will take me up as a student Mage. He said I had 'the Gift'. Well, he took me, and he didn't end up teaching me. He made me a slave. It was horrible. And when I turned 13, he, he, he. "She broke off into sobs. Annie put an arm around the girl. She knew what happened next. Kala didn't have to explain. The two girls just sat comforting each other in the quiet room. Out side the room Daine and Numair watched the girls. The palace walls were not soundproof and they had heard everything said.  
  
"She does have a pretty powerful gift, the older girl." Numair broke the silence.  
  
Daine turned to him. "Two innocent girls just admitted that they were abused by people they trust, and that's all you can say?!" Daine's voice was filled with disbelief. She smacked him on the arm.  
  
"Ouch! Just trying to break the silence." Numair rubbed his arm. Just then, Annie came out of the room. She glared at the couple.  
  
"You heard, didn't you?" she accused. They nodded guiltily. Annie shrugged. "I guess I should have told you sooner. Its just, I don't want to get false hope. Its hard." Her tears were threatening to fall again. She sniffed. "I'm going to the barn." She brushed past Daine and Numair. Daine started to follow her but a large hand clamped on her arm, keeping her back.  
  
"Let her be for a while." His voice was soft. He gently pulled Daine close to him as she started to cry.  
  
A/N: hey! Hope you guys liked. Please tell me what you think. Don't worry, soon it will get a bit happier. And hopefully I will have some action and stuff soon. Please tell me what you think by pressing the review button. I love to hear from y'all!  
  
Emily 


	13. Walls

A/N: thanks for all the reviews guys! I promise, soon I will try to get this story a bit happier. I do have some ideas. Also, eventually I might actually add some romance, although I'm kinda afraid to after my few feeble attempts. Lol. Also, soon I will have action and more of a plot! I wont be able to update til Sunday though, I have to go to some wedding. Lol. Well, enjoy and remember to review.  
  
Emily  
  
Disclaimer: nope, not mine. Sadly.  
  
Annie leaned up against a stall. She needed to think and be alone. The tears now fell freely as she put her face in her hands. She had been in this position so many times before, at home. Coming to the one place she was safe after a bad beating and just crying all alone. Something softly tickled the top of her head. She looked up into the gentle, caring, concerned brown eyes of Pita. She reached up and scratched his nose. Pita then turned around, butt facing Annie. This caused Annie to laugh as she stood up and started scratching the big bay's rump. "you know, if I didn't know you, I would think you turning your back to me meant you hated me." Pita Nickered in amusement. Footsteps echoed through the barn aisles as horses stuck their heads out to greet the newcomer. Annie looked up to see Daine and the tall dude, Numair, she thought. That's his name. Both looked concerned.  
  
"hello. Feeling better?" Daine's voice was kind. Annie wiped her eyes and forced on a smile.  
  
"Yeah." The three sat in silence for a while, the only sound was Annie scratching Pita's rump.  
  
"Um, I know that this might not be the most appropriate time for this question, but do you think that that girl would be interested in learning more about her gift and how to use it?" Daine glared at her lover. Annie looked at him strangely.  
  
"What's this 'gift?' is it like, something special or what?" it was quickly explained to her by Numair. "Oh. Well, that's weird. Anyways, I don't know about Kala. Maybe if I was with her she would be ok. You can talk to her." The stable went quiet again, the humans all lost in their own thoughts. The silence was interrupted by a loud bang as Lady, the small chestnut Annie had ridden the other day kicked her stall in irritation.  
  
: What? Daine asked in mind speech and out loud.  
  
: You silly two leggers weren't paying any attention to me. Now, get over here. I have an itch that you need to fix: Daine Translated for the humans, causing Annie to laugh.  
  
Later that Day.  
  
Kala's door opened and three people stepped in. she recognized Annie, but there was a Woman and an extremely tall man that she did not recognize. She smiled weakly at the three. "Hi."  
  
"Hey Kala! Feeling better? This is Daine and Numair." She motioned to the man and woman, who smiled at her. "Numair would like to help you with your magic or gift or whatever you call it. I told him he could talk to you as long as I'm here to. Is that ok."  
  
Kala paled a bit. She felt she could trust Annie, but she didn't know about the other two, although their names were familiar. The last time she had trusted a 'teacher', well, she shuddered at the memory. But still, Annie and the other lady were going to be in the room. She aught to just talk to him. So she found herself saying "yes." The man grinned and sat down. Numair reintroduced him self and Annie remembered where she had heard his name. "I have heard of you." She thought out loud. "At the, the mans house, I heard him talking with some others." She was interrupted my Numair.  
  
"Who was this man, who claimed to be a teacher?" Kala swallowed and allowed herself to say the name that would haunt her forever.  
  
"Trent Retord."  
  
"I know him. That little..." Daine put a hand on Numair's shoulder, trying to calm him down. The man did. "Well, what did he say?"  
  
"I heard him talking about you two a few years back, about, well, you know, how he thought it was sad that you were so desperate you needed to bed a common girl." She blushed as Numair and Daine just laughed. Annie just sat confused.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused at what was so funny.  
  
"We got a lot of comments like that when we became lovers, for the age difference and the fact we were teacher and student before." Daine explained to Annie.  
  
"Oh, ok then." She shook her head and put a strange expression on her face. She sat staring into outer space during the rest of the time. When Numair was done, she got up and walked with Daine and Numair out the door. Daine then took the girl aside.  
  
"Um, Annie, a lot of people aren't happy about how you're dressing here. Can you come to the riders dresser so you can maybe wear some more, um, appropriate clothing."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Just follow me." Daine let her down a few halls to a small room, occupied by a large woman. Clothing was neatly piled in the room. Annie eyed it wearily.  
  
"What exactly do you plan on putting on Me."?  
  
"Just normal things, like what most the woman wear. Basically the same kind of thing I'm wearing."  
  
Annie's eyes grew. "Nuh-uh. Nope, aint no way."  
  
"Why? Its probably more comfortable." The fat lady and Daine were trying to heard the girl into the room. Annie Balked and turned around.  
  
"YOU CAN TAKE MY FREEDOM BUT YOU WILL NEVER TAKE MY JEANS!" Annie took off like a bat out of hell. She probably would have been able to go pretty far, except she slipped on the floors.  
  
THUMP "OUCH! DAMN WALL!"  
  
A/N: I hope you liked. See, look, its not all angst! Lol. I didn't much care for some of this chapter, but o well. I liked the ending. Lol. Well, remember to review!  
  
Emily 


	14. anger

**A/N:** major writers block here. So, please enjoy. I had some trouble figuring out an enemy, so sorry if its not original. I just had to write something. Lol. So, please enjoy and remember to review!  
  
**Disclaimer:** you recognize it, I don't own it.  
  
The short red headed woman stormed into the small office. Her violet eyes flashed with anger. "Jon, what the hell is going on?" Alanna demanded of the king. He wearily rubbed his temple.  
  
"It's the Harop isles, Daine brought news of plans to attack us." Alanna shrugged.  
  
"Their armies tiny, no match for ours." The king sighed heavily.  
  
"Not anymore. They have been training, but that's the least of our worries."  
  
"What's the main worry? Aren't their mages not very good?"  
  
"Again, not anymore. They somehow managed to get a black robed mage, not only that, but they also have formed an alliance with stormwings."  
  
"I thought we had a treaty with them."  
  
"A bunch of them formed a rebellion. So, as you can see, our situation is not good. The only thing we have that they don't have is a wild mage, and right now I half expect them to produce one." Alanna sunk heavily into a chair.  
  
"Well, Numair is training another mage. She supposedly has a powerful gift." She tried to look on the bright side, but it was hard. She got up. "We have a lot of work to do." She said, as she left the room.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
"What did you do to your head?" Neal was taking care of the rather large bruise Annie had acquired from her run in with the wall."  
  
"That damn wall hit me."  
  
"Riiiiight. The wall hit you. Sure." Neal and Kel exchanged amused glances. Just then, Kala walked into the room. She had just left the hospital room, and knowing no one other than Annie, Daine, and Numair, she had decided to find her young rescuer.  
  
"Hey." Neal and Kel looked up at the sound of the new female voice.  
  
"Hey Kala. This is Kel, and this is Neal. Kel, Neal, this is Kala." Annie took up the introductions. She motioned to a seat. "Come on, sit down. Make yourself at home." Kala was surprised at the transformation in Annie's emotions. This bubbling blond seemed so different from the girl she had seen earlier. Kel and Neal got up.  
  
"Well, we need to get going."  
  
"Bye y'all!" Annie smiled as the two pages left. She turned to Kala, her face bright. "Hey, Wanna meet my horse?"  
  
"Sure." Kala could see that Annie prided her horse. She followed the younger girl out to the barns.  
  
"Hey big boy." Annie's voice rang out through the barn aisle. A large bay gelding walked over to them, sticking his head out over the door.  
  
"He's beautiful," Kala gasped in awe at the breath-taking gelding. Annie beamed.  
  
"This is Pita. At home, he's my only friend." Her face fell briefly as she mentioned her home. Just as quickly she forced another smile on. The two girls stayed a while talking before going back to the palace. They didn't know that soon, chaos would be upon them, and soon, they would endure unthinkable horrors of a different kind.  
  
**A/N:** ACK! I'm stuck here. Major writers block. Arg. Well, I guess soon, the battle scene. Also, maybe I will make some romance. Possibly, I'm not sure though. Well, this wasn't my favorite chapter, but I hope you liked. Please tell me what you think by reviewing.  
  
Emily 


	15. gotcha!

**A/N:** sorry I haven't updated lately. I just haven't had any inspiration. But, now, I'm back. So, review!  
  
**Disclaimer:** not mine

* * *

The man sat looking into the shimmering silver pool. His grey eyes flashed with anger. He was in his mid fifties, tall and thin with graying red hair. Next to him stood a plump, shorter man, who was in his forties, streaks of gray in his chestnut hair. The tall man smiled.  
  
"Tortall doesn't stand a chance." He snickered.  
  
"King Cassenberg, there are reports they have someone new, someone with a powerful gift." King Cassenberg laughed.  
  
"Take a look at that 'new' person." He stepped aside to let the short man look in the pool at the image of Kala. "She's a stray commoner, nothing more." The sound of his laughter echoes eerily through the halls.

* * *

Annie watched as Kala timidly ate that night. She hadn't really taken a good look at the girl since she had come. Now that she looked at her, she realized the older girl was actually quite pretty. Her light brown hair fell in gentle waves down her back. The dress she wore hung loosely around her thin frame. She had stunning green eyes. Though her eyes reflected her pains, a spark of determination still shined through them. "She's a fighter." Annie thought as she looked at the girl.  
  
Later that night, the two girls sat in Annie's room. An extra cot had been moved in for Kala. The teens sat on the beds talking.  
  
"So, what are you going to do, now that you're here?" Annie asked, curious about the girl's future.  
  
Kala sighed. "Probably become a servant for someone." Annie stared at the girl. She was fully aware that Kala was lying. That was not what Kala wanted to do with her life, they both knew it. But she didn't press the issue. Hopefully in time, Kala would trust her enough to tell the truth. Annie glanced down at her own bruises, thinking "though it took me long enough to trust anyone myself."

* * *

The next day as Annie rode, Kala watched the pages train. Her attention wasn't really on her riding though, it was on the thin girl watching the pages. Suddenly, Annie realized what Kala had been trying to hide last night. She rode up to the girl, a sly smile etched on her face.  
  
"I know what you want to do here." Kala jumped at the sudden sound of Annie's voice. She whipped around.  
  
"I told you what I would probably do."  
  
"your plans are to be a servant my ass."  
  
"ok, so that's not what I really would like to do."  
  
"No shit Sherlock." Kala looked at her questioningly as Annie said that. "it's a phrase. Anyways, you want to be a knight!"  
  
"yah, I guess. But it would never happen."  
  
"why not?"  
  
"I'm a homeless commoner, and a girl."  
  
"and your point is..."  
  
"I'm a GIRL! And a COMMONER!"  
  
"why the hell does it matter if your and girl, and what is a commoner?"  
  
"girls are generally not excepted into knight training. And a commoner is someone of lower class."  
  
"well that's stupid." Annie retorted. She turned the bay gelding around and headed towards the stables. she was going to talk to someone about this. She thought that Kala had the right to become a knight. After rubbing down Pita and giving him his feed, she went to search for Daine.

* * *

"Daine, I need some help."  
  
"sure. What is it?"  
  
"Kala wants to train to be a knight but is scared to ask. What should she do."  
  
Daine took a deep breath. "I don't know. it would be hard for her to become one. But, she could sign up to become a rider."  
  
"that would be good! Thanks. I'll talk to her." Annie skipped off happily, a grin on her face.  
  
"Kala!" she called as she wondered through the halls. She stopped dead and stared at the looming wall. "its you again." she growled. It was the wall. The bump on her head started to throb just thinking about the run in with the wall the other day.  
  
"its not over yet. I'll be back" she leered. She threw back one last glare at the wall as she walked off to find Kala.

* * *

**A/N:** I know I know, another short chapter. The next chapter will have a lot more action, I promise. Its just right now, I'm very depressed. Sorry. Well, please review!  
  
**Emily**


	16. thinking

**A/N:** hey! Well, this fic is almost finished, only about 4 more chapters I think. Thank you soooo much for all the amazing reviews. You have no idea how much your opinions mean to me. Keep those reviews coming! Well, this chapter will be very short, but to make up for that, the next one will be very long and will be posted on the same night. There will be more action in the next two chapters. Also, things will be a little different than in the books. I know fights may not really be like this in the books, but as you can see, I do change details a lot to make things easier for me to write. Well, please enjoy. And don't forget to review! My goal is 50 by the time I finish.  
  
Emily  
  
**Disclaimer:** anything you recognize is not mine. Please don't sue. Lol.

* * *

"Sir, we are camped right outside of Tortall, awaiting orders."  
  
"Very good. We will take them by surprise. We are to attack tomorrow, at dawn."  
  
"Very good your highness." The short man turned from King Cassenberg and walked off, to get the message to the Harop army.

* * *

"Hey! Kala, I have some cool news!" Annie yelled joyfully to the other girl, who was still watching the pages train. When Kala didn't turn around, Annie yelled "hey! Did you hear me?" raising her voice louder.  
  
"Yes, I heard you. They heard you!" Kala said, gesturing to several pages that had turned and were now giving Annie dirty looks.  
  
"You trying to make everyone in Tortall hear you?" shouted one page angrily.  
  
"I love you to!" retorted the girl with a smile. She turned back to Kala. "Anyways, I talked to someone, and you could sign up to become a rider! It's kinda like a knight I guess, I mean, you learn to like, ride and stuff."  
  
"That would be cool. I can look into it."  
  
"Awesome. O, I need to get ready for classes."  
  
"Classes?"  
  
"Yah! I um, 'sweet talked' my way into taking classes with the pages. I was to bored doing nothing."  
  
"No, it's more like you screamed and cursed your self into taking classes." Annie didn't realize Kel and Neal had pulled their horses up to the teens.  
  
"It started out as sweet talking." Annie replied with an innocent smile.  
  
Kala laughed. "Well, have fun."  
  
"Why don't you come? I think I scared the dude in charge to much to argue if I brought you."  
  
"No thanks. I can't really read or do math."  
  
"You cant? Wow!" Kala laughed at her astonished face.  
  
"You really aren't from around here."  
  
"Hrm, what was your first clue?" The blond said sarcastically. "Why shouldn't I be surprised you can't read, when you're older than me, I think."  
  
"This isn't wherever you're from. Commoners often can't read."  
  
"What's with these stupid things? Woman don't become knights, people think just because I show some skin I'm a freaking prostitute, people are divided into 'commoner' and 'noble', and 'commoners don't often know how to read and crap!" she shook here head and walked back to her room. She really wanted to take a nice bath.

* * *

Annie scowled as she cautiously stepped into the warm bath. She hated this whole bathe with other woman thing in only a loincloth and breast band thing. She sighed; at least she wore those, which she figured was kind of like a bathing suit in Tortall. She turned around so she wouldn't be facing the group of giggling woman. As she washed her back, she heard a voice behind her.  
  
"Dear, just because he's a man doesn't mean he can hurt you." Annie turned around to face the ladies. "You can report him." Continued the woman. Annie let out a small laugh. She had been telling that to Kala, trying to get her to report her rapist.  
  
"I know." Annie's voice was soft. "Its, its not what you think." The woman shrugged and waded away. Annie returned to her bath, but still, she couldn't help but think about her short conversation with the woman. She gazed down at her arms. The bruises were fading, like they always did after a few days.  
  
All her life, she had been taught about child abuse and how it was wrong and could be stopped. She had seen the announcements on TV and in magazines, she had seen many episodes of Law and Order: SVU and learned about it from there. Hell, once a sheriff came to her class to talk about it when she was in seventh grade. Her mind wondered back to that day.  
  
_She was in class when a lady came in, dressed in a police uniform. The teacher explained to the class that the officer was going to inform the class about child abuse. They officer had started talking. She explained what child abuse was, and how it could be stopped. She showed a video and posters. Annie's blood ran cold as the lady talked. She started to feel nauseous. What did this lady know? Annie thought she certainly couldn't be like these poor children the police officer was talking about. Could she? But this woman's words still hit her hard. She raised her hand and escaped to the bathroom, where she stayed the rest of the lecture.  
_  
Annie's tears moistened as she thought of that day. She was always telling people they should say something if they were being hurt. She thought woman whose boyfriends hit them should dump them. So why was her abuse different? She wiped her eyes and quickly got out of the bath. She knew she couldn't just bury her thoughts, but she could push them back. And that's just what she was going to do.

* * *

"Sir, there are reports of Harop troops camped right outside of Tortall." Daine reported. Jonathan sighed heavily and Alanna let out a stream of curses.  
  
"Get prepared for them, and lets all hope they don't attack anytime soon." They group all left the chambers to get things ready, just in case. They didn't know that things would happen sooner then they though.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, not very long. I know I also said I would have action in this chapter, but things just didn't turn out that way. But I do promise that the next chapter will be the big fight. I'm sorry the transition into it sucks and might suck some more it the next chapter, but I just don't know how to get into it. Once we get into the fight, I think things should be better. So, remember to review!  
  
Emily


	17. the war

**

* * *

A/N:** I promised you I would put two chapters up tonight! So here it is, chapter 17. This one will have a lot of violence, possibly borderline R. you have been warned. Remember to review!  
  
Emily  
  
**Disclaimer:** still aint mine.

* * *

Annie was awoken very early by the sound of pounding on the door. She yawned and lazily made her way over to the door.  
  
"Get dressed. We're under attack." Daine's announcement woke Annie up completely. She quickly woke up Kala and the two teens got dressed quickly. They joined Daine outside.  
  
"What do we do? Can we help? What about the horses?"  
  
"The animals are safe. And, um, can you use a weapon?"  
  
"I have a fair hand at the sling shot." Kala said shyly.  
  
"Ok, go and do that. What about you? Can you use a sword?"  
  
"No."  
  
"A spear?"  
  
"No."  
  
"A bow?"  
  
"No."  
  
A sling shot?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Can you use anything?"  
  
"Um, I can kick someone really hard. And I can bash people over the head with my shoes!"  
  
"Um, just don't go outside!" Daine raced off, leaving Annie in the deserted hall.  
  
Well, obviously when you tell a teenager not to do something, their going to do it. So Annie promptly went outside, into the war.

* * *

Arrows rained down over the Harop army. Knights, pages, and squires raced out to clash with the Harop army. The clash of metal meeting metal rang out. An arrow lodged itself into a Harop's eye. He went down with a screech of pain. Alanna slashed at a man, leaving a deep wound in his stomach. Blood gushed out of the wound as the man died. Kel speared a man through the chest, leaving a gaping hole in the man.  
  
A white dog leaped at a man, tearing his throat. A Harop was engaged in a sword fight. The man was about to spear the woman when a rock hit him square in the temple. One Tortallians knight went down as a Harop swiftly sliced the man across the waist. Another Tortallians man rode up and sliced the head off a Harop who was trying to spear Neal.  
  
One man let out an agonizing scream as black magic burnt him. A group of sparrows swarmed around one Harop's mount, causing the terrified animal to throw the rider to a waiting Tortallians, who with a swift stroke of his sword, brought him down. Up above, Archers expertly let arrows loose, marking their targets with ease. A strawberry roan reared up and came down hard on one man. Kel's spear went through the head of one man.  
  
The crimson blood of another enemy adorned tall knights armor as he slashed a man through the throat. One man was about to slice Kel when a high heeled show flew through the air, hitting the man on the head and giving the young page time to kill her assailant. A large group of animals emerged from the woods and started bringing people down. A group of Tortallians men were burnt as grey fire burnt them the source of the grey fire was soon hit by black fire, the two mages locked in a battle of their own.  
  
Annie watched the scene unfold below her. Her stomach turned at the sight of bodies being slashed, limbs being detached from bodies. A foul stench filled the air, causing the girl to gag. Nearby, she heard somebody scream "stormwings!" Annie watched as a large group of creature flew into view. The arches immediately started to aim at the creatures. Annie was suddenly wondering if she should have actually listened to Daine. She screamed as one of the monsters swooped down at her. It scraped her head. Her hands flew up to the wound and she shuddered as she felt the trickle of blood fall down her head. She removed her hands to find the covered in the sticky crimson blood.  
  
Annie walked over to another spot that not as many people were stationed in. she looked up to see a stormwing falling. A man riding him landed a few feet from Annie. He quickly got up and advanced towards the girl. His eyes blazed with anger.  
  
"Oh shit." She mumbled. The man was now right in front of her. He punched her and she stumbled back. She promptly kneed him in the groin. As he bent over in pain, Annie slipped her other shoe off, banging him on the head. She did a little jump and let out what could be described as a victory squeal. She then raced back to the others.  
  
The bloody war raged on all day and night. It was short, but bloody. At the end of the second day, The Harop's finally retreated. But they left a bloody mess. Dead bodies scattered the ground. Men missing heads, legs and arms littered the ground. The grass was stained with the crimson blood of victims of the bloody war. Alanna limped out of the field, a deep wound in her leg. Kel was supported by Neal and another boy with a wound to he shoulder. Everyone was exhausted, and it showed. Annie could barely remember collapsing to the ground.

* * *

She awoke on a makeshift cot. She rose slowly and looked around. People were crowded into the room. Most of them slept soundly. The people were all filthy, many of them covered in blood. Annie swung herself off the bed to go look around. She quietly crept out of the room and ran into the read headed woman who she had seen fighting earlier. The woman was talking to Daine, who noticed Annie first.  
  
"Your awake."  
  
"Yup. So, did we win? What happened?"  
  
"We haven't won the whole war yet. But its looking good." The red head woman said.  
  
"Oh, Annie, this is Alanna. Alanna, this is the girl I was telling you about."  
  
"Nice to meet you Annie."  
  
"You to. So, how are the horses? Are they ok?"  
  
"Yes, they are mostly ok." Annie let out a relieved sigh.  
  
"What about the humans?"  
  
Alanna answered her. "The death toll for both sides is high, but not as high as it could be."  
  
"That sucks. What about my friends?"  
  
Daine gave the younger girl a smile. "Their ok."  
  
"Good. Well, I'm going to go. See you! Nice to meet you Alanna." She walked off, leaving the two women to talk.

* * *

**A/N:** hey, what do you know? this one is actually shorter than the last one. grr. sorry guys. well, I hope you liked this chapter. I tried to make it good. I hope I did a good job. Well, tell me what you think. Like? Hate? I want to know! So, keep those reviews coming!  
  
Emily 


	18. Going home

**A/N:** well guys, this is the last chapter! Wow. Well, tell me what you thought. **Currently I do have another Tamora Pierce story in the works, but I am seriously thinking about possibly doing a joint project with that one. If your interested in writing a story with me and like D/N, email me at or AIM me at ladykannie.** Thank you all for all the support throughout this story. When I got this idea, I had no idea what a problem Mary Sue stories were. I have tried my hardest to keep my story as original as possible. I really hope I succeeded. Though, as far as I know, I have the only story where the character beats someone up with her high- heeled shoe and talks to walls! It is possible I might do a sequel, but it would not have Annie in it. It would pretty much be all about Kala. Well, I'm going to shut up now and let y'all read my final chapter. Please enjoy and remember to review!  
  
**Emily  
**  
**Disclaimer:** still not mine

* * *

Light streamed through the window as Annie woke up. She realized she must have slept in pretty late. It had been two days since the war had ended and the past two days had been spent helping clean up the palace. She yawned as she rolled herself out of bed. She quickly threw on a tank top and a pair of denim shorts, ran a brush through her hair, and went to eat something.

* * *

Later that day as Annie and Kala strolled down the halls, they ran into a group of pages.  
  
"Well if it isn't my favorite whores" one boy said cruelly. Annie stopped and stared at him. Kala anxiously tugged at Annie's shirt.  
  
"Lets go. He just wants to get you into his bed." She whispered to Annie, who let out a hearty laugh.  
  
"I can't say I blame him. I mean, considering the only woman who would every have sex with that would have to be paid a healthy sum, and drunk." She looked him over. "Very very drunk."  
  
"Bitch!" he snarled.  
  
"Jackass!" she retorted.  
  
"You little..."  
  
"Oh fuck off freak. Get the hell away from me." She rudely pushed her way through the group of slightly stunned boys. She tried to pull a smooth walk away act and it worked, well up to the part where the guys decided to chase her.  
  
"OH SHIT!!! THIS ISN'T HOW IT WORKS IT STORY BOOKS!" she screamed as she and Kala bounded down the hall.  
  
BAM!"  
  
"DAMNIT! I thought I already killed this wall!" if Annie had not been busy yelling at the evil wall, she might have noticed Kala frantically tapping her and yelling that the boys were almost to them. But, sadly, Annie was busy yelling at the wall, and ignored Kala's warnings. That is, until a page slipped into the wall.  
  
"I'M GOING TO..."  
  
"Take a number! I'm killing it first." She turned around and smiled sheepishly. "You know, this is why I really wish I didn't have such a potty mouth."  
  
"What's going on here?" the teens slowly turned around to see Alanna glaring at them.  
  
"They called me a whore and I simply followed the script, you know, telling them off and then smoothly walking away leaving them stunned. But then they kinda chases me and ya." Alanna just stared at the girl and shook her head. She was about to say something when Numair came running up to them.  
  
"I'VE GOT IT! I KNOW HOW TO SEND YOU BACK!!!!" Annie looked up at him.  
  
"Oh my gosh." She stuttered.  
  
"Well, would you like to go back?" She rose to her feet.  
  
"I, I don't know. I just, I need to think about this." She managed to say as she quickly walked off. She made her way to the stables and tacked up Pita. As she got on the big geldings back, she thought about what Numair had said.  
  
"Do I want to go back?" she thought. She was happy here. Did she want to go back home? What would she do once she was back? Would she go back to her parents, back to the pain? She knew now she couldn't just run from her troubles. She couldn't just push her problems back forever. She would eventually have to face them.  
  
But could she really live here for the rest of her life? She would have to wear their clothes. Could she live here, in a completely different place? Where there was no technology? She would be treated well, she was relatively sure of that. But would she want to live with a bunch of sexist pigs?  
  
"I have to go back." She said this realization out loud. Pita let out a low whinny, as if to agree. She patted his neck and dismounted. Three hours later, she was in the pages wing, saying goodbye to her friends.  
  
"I'm going to miss y'all." Her voice was choked with emotion. Tears clouded her eyes as she hugged Kel, Neal, Daine, and Kala goodbye. "Kala, remember, don't give up, and stay strong. Kel, Neal, make sure Kala stays aggressive. And Daine thanks. Thanks for helping me out here." Tears now flowed freely down her face. She swung her bag over her shoulder, took a deep breath, and walked outside, to join Pita and Numair.  
  
The mage started to chant something softly and before Annie knew it, a black cloud had engulfed her and Pita. She felt some invisible force slam into her and suddenly, she hit solid earth. She opened her eyes and looked around.  
  
"We're back," she murmured in disbelief. "Was this all a dream?" she wondered out loud. She glanced down at her arm. Sure enough, a scar left from the battle proudly adorned her arm. She shakily picked herself off the ground and mounted Pita. Some time later, they reached a large barn. Here Annie sometimes took lessons. She walked the large bay up to the entrance. A girl, about Annie's age approached her.  
  
"Hey. Can you do me a huge favor and take care of Pita for me? I have something I have to take care of." The girl nodded and Annie smiled gratefully. She quickly threw her bag into the tack room and set off for her next destination.

* * *

Half an hour later, Annie stood in front of a large building in town. "Thank god the barn is near town." She panted. She took a deep breath as she walked through the heavy doors of the police station. Nervously, she walked up to a receptionist. The lady looked up.  
  
"How may I help you?"  
  
"Hi. I am here to report a case of child abuse."  
  
**THE END  
**  
**A/N:** wow, I finished! Yeah! Well, what did you think? Please tell me by reviewing. I love to hear from y'all. Well, as I said. I might do a sequel, if enough people want me to, but right now, there are no plans for one. It just depends on if I end up doing a joint story with someone or if I end up being the sole author. I really hoped you enjoyed this story. I certainly enjoyed writing it. Well, remember to review! Even though the story is done, I still love to hear what you think out it. So, keep those reviews coming in.  
  
**Emily**  
  



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